Letters to the Editor, Sunday, April 29, 2017

Thanks for the support

Back in November, I penned a letter to this newspaper, asking you, the readers, to reach out to your legislators and lend your support to the SHINE program. And you did.

Thanks to you, the federal government has funded SHINE for another year. SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) is a vital program for seniors and adults with disabilities. It provides free, unbiased and personalized assistance to Medicare beneficiaries. Last year in Southwest Florida, more than 9,400 folks received assistance from SHINE to choose the right Medicare plan, help with claims and appeals, and apply for discounts and savings programs.

You rescued this vital program from the budget chopping block. Your letters, phone calls and petitions saved SHINE for another year.

Thanks also to our more than 60 SHINE counselors, volunteers who assist Medicare beneficiaries year-round. Their commitment to providing this important program is unmatched, and we appreciate all that they give to SHINE.

But while we celebrate a 2018 victory, we’ve already learned that SHINE and all other State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP) will be in for another tough fight in 2019. We at the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida hope that you will once again join us and advocate for the SHINE program when the time comes again.

With 10,000 baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare every day, SHIP programs like SHINE will continue to be vital for years to come.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Marianne Lorini, Estero

President and CEO, Area Agency

on Aging for Southwest Florida

Add dads to legislation

Regarding the outrageous April 21 article headlined “Anti-abortion politicians aim to prosecute women,” I won’t get into the pro-life or pro-choice issue. Reasonable people on both sides have valid opinions.

However, if legislatures — whether state or federal — pass laws whereby pregnant women choosing abortion and health care professionals who assist in those abortions can be prosecuted, the new laws better contain one more element: Equal punishment for the guys who impregnate them.

The rhetoric is unconstitutional now under Roe v. Wade, but laws change in political winds and Supreme Court balances shift.

If ridiculous laws like the ones being proposed by desperate, misogynistic candidates seeking election in Idaho, Ohio and Oklahoma actually pass, then include a directive that every male between puberty and cremation be mandated to have his DNA placed on a national database so indicted pregnant women can prove to the court “who’s the daddy.” If men are not equally prosecuted, you can count on a “#YOUTOODAD” movement.

This means: every teenager whose hormones rage; every college fellow who drinks too much one night and whose financially strapped parents are going to go ballistic over their son’s stupidity; every married guy (including politicians) whose illicit affair becomes an oops, and every guy who is afraid of commitment and thinks the joyous news is not so joyful and begs her (or pays) for an abortion. These condom-less, irresponsible guys must be DNA checked and receive the same sentence as the women who have aborted.

It takes two to tango, legislators.

Marianne St. Johns, Naples

Where are the fathers?

Regarding the April 21 story headlined "Anti-abortion politicians aim to prosecute women," by Kimberlee Kruesi, there's nothing like letting the punishment fit the crime.

So now we have politicians proposing life in prison and even the death penalty for women and their abortionists. That makes three deaths instead of just one.

But someone is missing: Where is the father in this parade of criminals? What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

Laurie Cherbonnier, Naples

Spell it out

In November 2017, North Collier Fire Control & Rescue District commissioners voted to increase homeowners' taxes by 5 percent. Now they want us to vote for a fee for fire service referendum which will for the first time charge commercial establishments 25 cents per square foot, with all residential dwelling units and commercial establishments paying an additional $254 annually.

Citizens and commercial establishments are rightly outraged at this attempt to increase our taxes to pay for the same level of services.

To counter our opposition, fire commissioners promised to reduce and equalize the millage (tax) rate citizens pay in North Naples and Big Corkscrew service delivery areas.
However, they conveniently forgot to include the wording in the referendum.

During the merger of North Naples and Big Corkscrew fire districts, our fire commissioners made and broke many promises because the merger documents were not binding on them. However, the wording in the referendum is binding on the fire commissioners.

Be proactive: Ask your fire commissioners to include a reference to reducing and equalizing our millage rate in the referendum; otherwise, they can keep breaking their promises and our taxes will keep rising and rising.

The next fire commission meeting is May 10. Don’t wait till the last minute to make your views known. Contact fire commission Chairman Chris Lombardo (clombardo@northcollierfire.com) and tell him what you think.

Linda Roth, Naples

Power supply needs improvement

I dread summer and I'm not talking about the heat. I'm talking about Florida Power & Light. Every time there's the least bit of thunder and lightning, our power goes out long enough to cause most electronics to have to be reset.

During a recent storm, which lasted about one hour, the power went off and on at least four times. Good luck with trying to watch a movie.

We live in Florida, the lightning capital of the United States. Why is it that in 2018 our power supply is sometimes reminiscent of a Third World country? C'mon, FPL.

Linda Parsons, Naples

Democrats need counseling

Mental illness is a debilitating factor for millions of people.

On the surface, they appear totally normal, but sometimes this disease comes to the forefront and impairs realistic thinking. This illness usually affects individuals, but as of late, whole groups of people are befallen by it.

One of these groups is the Democrats. When they lost the 2016 elections, they did not accept the results. They came up with the outlandish claim that the elections had been stolen by the Russians. For two years, the media fed us the ridiculous story that Russian President Vladimir Putin had elected Donald Trump. Even Time, a once reputable magazine, lost its mind and showed a melded White House/Kremlin on its cover and made Putin the real ruler in Washington.

After two years of investigation and spending millions of tax dollars, not one shred of evidence was found. The claim became so ridiculous that the Democratic National Committee changed course and discovered an adult film star who allegedly had contact with Trump a decade ago. Coverage was 24/7 and when that claim was laughed at by the public, they decided that Facebook was guilty of electing Trump. Its CEO was brought in front of Congress to testify.

That argument lasted for one week and now the DNC has taken the ultimate step. It sued the Trump election committee and the Russians for losing the elections. Let us hope that the courts will accept this case and see the DNC laughed out of court.

For the sake of the country, the DNC is urged to seek professional help from a psychologist or psychiatrist to help them overcome this illness.